Chapter 8: Ashes
I didn't mean to fall asleep.
It just… happened.
One moment I was sitting near the dying fire, staring into the ashes.
The next—
Darkness.
---
I woke up suddenly.
My body jerked upright before my mind caught up, my hand instinctively reaching for the sharpened stick beside me.
Silence.
No growls.
No movement.
Only the faint sound of wind brushing through leaves overhead.
My breathing slowed gradually.
"…Right."
The fire.
The clearing.
The forest.
I was still here.
The realization settled heavily in my chest.
For a second, I just sat there quietly, trying to wake up properly.
Everything hurt.
Not sharply anymore, but enough to remind me that yesterday wasn't some nightmare.
My shoulders felt stiff. My legs heavy. Even my neck ached from sleeping against a tree.
"…Amazing. Ten out of ten sleeping experience."
My voice came out rough.
I rubbed my eyes tiredly and looked around.
The fire had completely died out now, leaving only dark ash and faint traces of smoke rising into the cold air.
Night was gone.
Morning had arrived quietly.
The forest looked different in daylight.
Not safer.
Just clearer.
Tall trees stretched endlessly around the clearing, their trunks dark and uneven, roots twisting through the ground like veins. Thin rays of sunlight slipped through the branches above, cutting through patches of fog lingering between the trees.
The air felt damp.
Cold enough that I could still see faint mist when I breathed.
Leaves covered most of the ground, layered thickly over dirt and exposed roots. Some areas looked untouched for years.
Others—
Broken branches.
Marks in the soil.
Signs that things moved through here often.
Too often.
"…Still creepy."
I stood slowly, immediately regretting it as pain shot through my legs.
"Okay—yeah, still alive."
Barely.
I stretched slightly, wincing.
I hadn't slept properly at all.
Every sound during the night had dragged me awake.
Branches cracking.
Leaves moving.
At one point I was almost sure something had been watching the clearing from the trees.
Maybe it had.
Maybe I was imagining things.
Honestly, both felt equally possible here.
Still…
I felt better than yesterday.
Not rested.
Not comfortable.
But functional.
The food helped.
The healing too.
My gaze drifted toward my hand.
Slowly, I focused.
A tiny flame flickered into existence above my palm.
Steadier now.
Warmer.
"…That's still weird."
The fire reflected faintly in my eyes before disappearing again.
I picked up my weapon and looked around the clearing one last time.
The ashes remained.
Along with the memory of the goblin leg burning blue inside the flames.
Even now, thinking about it felt unreal.
"…Fire affinity."
The words sounded ridiculous out loud.
Like something from a game.
Except games didn't hurt like this.
Games didn't leave your body sore after sleeping on the ground.
Games didn't make you wonder if something would kill you while you slept.
I exhaled quietly.
Then froze.
A sound.
Far away.
Not an animal.
Something sharper.
Metal?
I frowned immediately.
"…What was that?"
The forest fell silent again.
But now that I heard it—
I couldn't ignore it.
I stepped carefully toward the edge of the clearing, moving slowly between the trees.
The deeper I walked, the thicker the forest became.
The sunlight barely reached the ground here. Moss covered parts of the trunks, dark green against rough bark, while vines wrapped themselves around branches overhead.
The air smelled earthy.
Wet soil.
Rotting leaves.
Smoke.
Wait.
Smoke?
I stopped.
There it was again.
Faint.
Barely visible through the trees ahead.
Gray smoke rising upward.
Not natural.
Not from a forest fire.
Controlled.
Small.
My heartbeat quickened slightly.
"…Someone's there."
Or something.
I tightened my grip instinctively.
Part of me wanted to turn around immediately.
Hide.
Avoid it.
Because every time I found something new in this place—
It tried to kill me.
But another part of me—
The tired, desperate part—
Couldn't ignore it.
Smoke meant fire.
Fire meant intelligence.
Maybe people.
Maybe answers.
Maybe food that didn't come from monsters.
"…Okay."
I swallowed slowly.
"…Worst case scenario, I die."
I paused.
"…Actually no, that's a terrible scenario."
A small laugh escaped me despite myself.
Quiet.
Short.
But real.
Then I moved forward again.
Carefully this time.
The forest slowly began to change around me as I approached the smoke.
The trees grew thinner.
The ground less wild.
Not by much—
But enough to notice.
Broken branches weren't random here.
Some looked cut.
Not snapped.
Cut.
Old footprints marked patches of dirt near the roots.
Human footprints.
My chest tightened slightly.
"…No way."
The smoke became clearer ahead.
Then—
I saw it.
Not a village.
Not yet.
But something close.
A wooden structure stood between the trees in the distance.
Small.
Broken.
Like an old watchtower collapsing into itself.
Half the roof was gone, dark wood covered in moss and vines. One side leaned dangerously, looking ready to fall at any moment.
And beside it—
A weak trail of smoke rose from behind the structure.
Fresh.
Recent.
I stopped immediately, hiding behind a tree.
My heartbeat felt louder now.
Someone was there.
Had to be.
The forest suddenly felt quieter again.
Waiting.
Watching.
I tightened my grip on the sharpened stick.
Then slowly looked toward the ruined watchtower once more.
"…Do I really want to do this?"
Honestly?
No.
Not even a little.
But my feet still moved forward anyway.
Because after everything—
Monsters.
Blood.
Fire.
Skills.
Ashes.
The possibility of another human being nearby felt more terrifying than all of it.
And somehow—
I still couldn't walk away.